The Nature of Shepherds (a Tales of Zestiria/Berseria Analysis)
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- Опубликовано: 24 дек 2024
- aka why sorey is clearly the best shepherd
Today's video will analyse the nature of four different Shepherds across Tales of Berseria and Tales of Zestiria in the hopes of determining why Sorey is the only Shepherd who was able to successfully complete his mission. Enjoy!
Playlist links:
Lets Play Tales of Zestiria: • Let's Play Tales of Ze...
Let's Play Tales of Berseria: • Let's Play Tales of Be...
Let's Play Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition: • Let's Play Tales of Ve...
Tales of Zestiria/Berseria Analysis Videos: • Tales of Zestiria/Bers...
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Equipment:
Elgato HD60S
WALKEN Fifine Condenser Microphone
Shotcut Video Editor
All music used was taken from the Tales of Zestiria OST and the Tales of Berseria OST. These are the tracks in order of usage:
-Journeys of the Previous Shepherds
-Ancient Architecture from Where You Can Feel the Remnants of History
-Villa of Silence
-Forest of Life
-Entrusted Hope and Force
-The Story that is Passed Down
-Deep Forest that Covers the Sky
-The Overwatching Seraphim
-Nostalgic Hometown
Artorius had noble intentions, but his vision of an ideal world was quite pragmatic and selfish. He doesn't seem to demonstrate a bit of sympathy towards his companings though. Sorey on the other hand it's much more compassionate but also less mesianic and more human, he cared about his companions.
Artorius also used Malakhs (or Seraphims) more like tools and dehumanized them. Sorey on the other hand believed that humans could be friends with seraphims.
Artorius had the misery to be advised by nefarious people like Melchior. Sorey on the other hand had Lailah as his adviser.
Of course artorious selfish. He used his wifes death as an exeuse for his actions. He became no different than the people who killed her in the first place
10:32 About that... Melchior is the kind of "friend" that makes enemies redundant. I'm pretty sure that he played a direct role in the events that turned Arthur into Arthorius. What do we know about him? He is manipulative, he's very good at illusion artes (and doesn't shy away from using them to trick others), he can turn people and malakim into demons at will, his philosophy can be summed up as "the ends justify the means", and there was seemingly no line he wouldn't be willing to cross to achieve his goals. He was convinced that suppressing humanity was the only way to save it, but at the time Arthur might not have been fully on board with it.
Then on a scarlet night demons just happened to attack the village where Arthur and Celica lived, and it just happened that Celica fell into the pit where Innominat was sealed away, and then Melchior just happened to show up just in time to save Arthur from the demons (but too late to save Celica). Then Melchior, knowing that Arthur is in a vulnerable mental state, tells him that the villagers decided to sacrifice him and Celica to the demons in order to save their own lives (without any evidence to back this up), thus pushing him over the edge. Quite a lot of coincidences. Too many if you ask me.
Best case scenario - Melchior let this happen and didn't interfere until it was too late. Worst case - the demon attack was his doing. In either case he would justify this to himself as just another small sacrifice on the altar of the Greater Good.
Funny enough, I agree with your that all that shit with Celica & her death was suspect! Worse that her Seraph self stuck around Arthur to really drive in the words Melchior put into his head! As what was made clear, Arthur was doomed no matter what happened that night! even if Celica didn't die to leave him in a state to be "convinced", Velvet and Laphicet sure would have been an equally good alternative motivation....with the worst part being that the only reason Innominat could be replace with Phi/Maotelus was only possible because of the circumstances of Seraph Laphicet/Phi rebirth as a Malak in the first place (namely his mother, and him as he was in her womb upon her death, so her dying also equated his death) made him that same as Innominat!
It's scare that Melchior and Arthorius plans would have succeed in a world where Velvet and Laphicet died (Who's to say either of the two would have been reborn as Malak unlike their sister and nephew! And I'm sure Melchior would have had other means to manipulate Arthur into abandoning his wife and son "for the greater good!")....it's funny that despite otherwise, I still can't call Melchior evil (I swear I love it when writers CAN tell the difference between a Villain and an Antagonist, the scariest of them being the Well Intentioned Extremist who doesn't puppy kick because he's evil, or even puppy kick! As they say, "For the greater good" can be a scary fucking thing in specific hands!)
@@paulman34340 Exactly. There aren't too many cartoonishly evil people in the world who revel in their own wickedness. Rather, the most heinous acts are often committed as a means to achieve what is perceived as the greater good. When the stakes are high enough it becomes easy to justify anything. Melchior is a true believer in his own ideals, and at least he is consistent. To him everyone's life is expendable, and that includes his own. He didn't hesitate to sacrifice himself to stop Velvet. It obviously didn't work the way he hoped, but he really tried.
It's unfortunate that many writers shy away from morally gray areas. A story with a clear and unambiguous good/evil dichotomy is more marketable and would probably appeal to more people, but hard questions without a definitive right answer are much more interesting. For example, I've been playing a lot of Honkai Impact lately, and suddenly realized something. One of the major antagonists - Otto Apocalypse (yeah, the names can be a little on the nose) - clearly has all the traits of a typical villain. A total sociopath with no regard for human life, manipulative, Machiavellian, and with enough crimes against humanity under his belt to make any war criminal jealous. And yet, despite the fact that his methods can't be justified by anyone with even a little empathy, it's hard to call him a villain. As much as I hate to admit it, but he might've ultimately provided humanity with its only chance of survival. Can one really condemn someone who sacrificed millions of lives to save billions? Honestly, I can't say I have a good answer to that.
@@Sheevlord Sometimes I think the best villains, are the ones who yes are shown as evil! But the writer goes into WHY they are. Not "they were born evil" or "They're a puppet kicker." but more the "Then let me be evil" where they're lashing out at the world because the world shat on them for the last time....but the story DAMN WELL makes sure you know that doesn't excuse what they've done and are doing! So many people in the world are willing to disguise their evil actions as "for the greater good" when they know damn well they're doing it because their being petty, but don't want to be seen as such!
In essence, showing what "trying so hard to hold the Victim card LONG when it's expired for them" concludes at! I mean the interesting thing I liked about Lambda from Grace was the heroes taking a shot at the Omnicidal Maniac with a well written "and then what" where after all we know up to that point! We realize the only reason he's acting in this way stems from in the end, being abused no matter what by others and the only one to be kind to him, suffering for it....ironically because he's biggest abuser was fucking jealous that said person had such a connection they envied! It pretty much pointed out, he did not REALLY want that like he claimed and that if he got what he wanted, he would truly be alone! A far fate worse then death for him! I mean it was abit annoying that a certain woman was made the source of why he was evil, but a game I WON'T speak any further on as it's still knew in a way tackles what I said better then Grace ever did!)
Sometimes, you have villains who REALLY don't want to accept the reality that their freudian excuse doesn't give them the right to do what they've done! Especially if it's being done on others who have NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT THEY SUFFERED! Like with Eternia, I like to believe Shizel did have some free will with her actions and it wasn't all Nereid possessing her in wanting to fulfill her and her husband's dream of uniting their two worlds "AT ANY COST!" Even if that meant hurting/killing their daughter to do so! Cause I dislike the whole "oh they were brainwashed all along, and so have no responsibility for what they did!" Fuck that, even the King Carnelian in DQ11 accept responsibility for the shit that Mordegeon did when he was possing him! Showing his drive and desire to make things right again once freed from the fallen hero mage. Hell even the remaining GOODNESS that is the Sage of the fallen hero still accept responsibility for falling in the first place!
@@paulman34340 There's also another thing to think about
Like if Velvet stayed knocked out while Laphi got .. well you know
Would Artourios tell her what happened to get the despair he needed for the suppression or would he have just said that Laphi got killed by demons and possibly try to turn Velvet into a exrosist
@@predatorasap5040 Worse thing, is Velvet might have been confined elsewhere like a Princess for her "protection!" Artourios might have up-ed his protective nature on her HUGELY. His "Bird" metephor could turned "caged" and the worse thing Velvet would have trusted him after losing everyone that night with no knowledge on what truly happened. Hell She could easily have been the FIRST to have her emotions taken from her "for her own good!" Since it would have "kept her pure"....and likely damage Artourios even further because the young girl he trained and viewed as a little sister would just be "an emotionless doll" that just "exists!"
Berseria story also takes another look at Symphonia's Mithos end goal! His belief in ending racism and hatred was to just cause one half of the population to suffer a fate worse then death, just to attach them to the other half with an equal fate worse then death! It's made clear Mithos while smarter for his age, sadly was still a kid even after 4000 years! Kids tend to pick what they see as quick solid solutions to their problems. But quick does not mean EFFECTIVE! Ultimately child or adult, Mithos and Artourios were secretly SELFISH individuals! Mithos just wanted his sister that when pushed, decided "fuck the world that in his mind continued to reject him" while with Artourios, he was left a duty he had no real idea what he needed to do! Hence why I said and the story made clear, he was doomed no matter what happened that night! The only golden path would have been Celcia, Phi, Laphi AND Velvet survived that night! He likely would have continued to live his life mundane, but happy! Laphi death would have been tradegic yes, but he would have died happy surrounded by his family! But what if's are what if's! Nice to think on, but we have to live in reality!)
Tbh, I’d love to see Sorey’s reaction to Artorias. I wonder what he’d think of him and his ideals, y’kno. I also wonder what he’d think of Velvet.
I thinks in my theory sorey will be shock
@@Coronavirus-np3oj actually considering is open mindedness he’d likely be more bewildered and intrigued by Velvet rather than shock
Tales of the Rays shows us a glimpse of how this happens.
@@BradleyMcCloud rly?!? I’m definitely gunna check it out now.
@@sarcasticnonsense I assume the same is said between velvet and Heldalf since all four are featured in the recent update.
Just beat Berseria a couple of days ago. Watching related videos to ease my broken heart lol
i just finished tales of berseria, im installing zestiria right now
This video adds to my previous statement about similarity between zestiria and street fighter, you see in street fighter the protagonist, Ryu , is plagued by an evil force called the dark hado, which turns fighters who practice ansatsuken into demons , many have fallen into it like Akuma, the brother of his master , and Ryu is struggling to not walk in the same dark path as him , and he have his friend and adoptive brother ken to help him on this , this was an informative video, I bow in respect to your research skills
Tattle Boad you got that right my friend, and I hope you’re having as much fun as I am playing street fighter and tales of zestiria, have a nice day and Ramadan Kareem in advance
A great analysis! Looking forward to more in the future. Would be nice to see videos on Lords of Calamity and the Mayvins.
A really interesting analysis. Really happy to see someone make such in depth video analysis on topics in Tales of Berseria/Zestiria as I find it a bit rare. You have earned a new subscriber.
Honestly, Tales of Berseria was my first Tales of game and I fell in love with it when I played through it and finished the story. The narrative felt really well crafted and executed in terms of plot, characters, pacing and presentation and it shows how passion was put into writing it.
But to me, the thing I liked most was how it portrayed the theme of human morality so well using the malevolence and characters in the story. It uses Velvet as a metaphor for the dualism of humanity, showing both the good and bad sides with her kindness and hatred respectively. Meanwhile Phi is used as a Tabula Rasa i.e a blank slate who learns about humanity while growing as he travels with the party. I love how he goes from a passive character that provides some interesting and sometimes funny insight to someone more proactive who makes some vital decisions. As he is able to truly understand the dual nature of humans and accept them with their flaws, he stayed true to himself and believed in them just as he believed in Velvet. Feels good knowing that Sorey can finally share this sentiment.
I was always a fan of deep and mature themes thanks to stuff like Fate/Zero and this game felt just as good even though this game isn't that gritty. But it's probably due to how Berseria nails characterization and make you feel sorry even for the antagonists. It would be a dream come true to see Berseria getting a full anime adaptation by Ufotable that is faithful to the game.
Also, have you watched Fate/Apocrypha? That anime has numerous parallels with Berseria (especially with Phi and Sieg) in terms of handling themes of human morality and salvation. Except it felt like a trainwreck that made Berseria look even more good. I wanna see Phi beat up Sieg so badly.
Thank you so much for the comment! I love your points about Tales of Berseria and Velvet's duality vs. Phi's being a tabula rasa, that's such a good way to put into words how their characters work.
Tales games do tend to be great for characterisation, even if they're not super gritty or dark. I think that's part of the reason I love these games so much. It really would be great to see a Berseria anime, though I'm not sure how likely that is. (The manga is being localised pretty soon though, so that's a plus!)
I haven't actually seen any of the Fate/ series - since it's so huge it's difficult to know where to start. I'll maybe check it out at some point though!
Great analysis as usual ^-^ Sorey is akin to a foil to Artorious.
I would like to see an analysis video about malevolence and the lord of calamity in general and Velvet specifically.
I really miss your analysis videos honestly 😂💔
Sorry in advance for any errors, but I do not speak English, I am Italian and I am entrusting myself to a translator.
Nice video, I loved Zestira (platinum) and appreciated Berseria, it makes me a little angry that a final is missing, a third chapter, which we will probably never see.
I got the idea, that Sorey and Velvet could become protagonists or supporting actors, for the third chapter; Like Milla and Jude from Xilia.
Furthermore the origin of the cursed Seraphim, the possible threat by Serafini of the Ancestral Plan, the probable liberation of Innominat after the contamination of Maotelus by Heldalf, the uncertainty about Lunarre, Sorey and Velvet that end their story in a way similar ... in short, there are all sorts of elements for a final chapter.
Very good and I too love this universe. I think Eizen or Rokuro would be a good place to start with Berseria.
I know this is an old video, but I Love it and I would ADORE a Lord of Calamity video that is equal but opposite of this one! :D
Thank you! I'd definitely love to do one on the Lords of Calamity in the future, it'd be a real treat to analyse them as well ^^
I am so glad that I found your channel again. I love your analysis and you pull me back in TOZ, and how great it is !
I think that what help Sorey the most as being the Shepard is the support he has. Being raised by Zenrus and the Elisyans Seraphim's. Always supported by Mikleo as the voice of reason, and the most rational one. Then he met Lailah, who even if she made an oath to keep some serious point secret. She tried to guide Sorey
, to find his own answer in order
to reach his dream. At least that's my humble opinion. Thank you for this great analysis !
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed this video ^^ I totally agree with you, Sorey wouldn't have been half as successful if he didn't have such a great network of friends supporting him, and the upbringing he did have with the seraphim in Elysia.
Awesome analysis as always. 😎
Nice video a few additions though. Michael was the shepherd during the time that Hyland wanted to separate their church from Rolance. It's the same event that caused the Pope to break down and abandon his post. Michael likely didn't want to get involved with humans because he didn't want to get involved with the politics of the time.
The residents of Camlann all had resonance which is why they believed in Maotelus so faithfully they could actually see him.
There was a known shepherd in between those 1,000 years and it was Alisha's ancestor but like many predecessors and successors expect Sorey he failed his duty. In his case the reason for his failure is like Artorius and Claudin before him but it might be less direct. Alisha's ancestor and his descendants used his position to build up his family rapport and then convince them to not only separate from Rolance empire but also to go to war with them. Which is arguably is what caused the malevolence to go out of control in the first place.
Eleanor was a shepherd in fact the only other successful one besides Sorey. She's the one that established the shepherd army, which worked, until Alisha's ancestor and his descendants ruined everything.
As for suggestions, how about going over Squires. What is a squire's duty and what makes them so important.
Thanks for pointing these out! Would you be able to link me to a place with more info on these? I hadn't actually realised about Eleanor's having been a Shepherd or Alisha's ancestor being a shepherd in canon, so it would be cool to read more about these!
Also great suggestion, I'll add it to the list!
@@elixirvitaegames Alisha mentions it once in the game that her ancestor was a shepherd. He's the one that wore her armor (her armor by the way was made from the corpses of a hellion attack). It really adds connotation to the fact that Ladylake was built on top of the temples that shepherds not even 200 years ago used. And the fact that Alisha's family use the temples as their own personal rituals and basically made it so that only they can access it. Or how they made up a festival (the sword festival in reality can't be more than 20 years old) to choose the next shepherd as though they actually had the power to do so. That's because Hyland wanted to use Sorey as a political tool from the start.
The source is the Tales of Zestiria World of Guidance and the Tales of Berseria guidebook.
Some people posted the translations.
aurantia-ignis.tumblr.com/post/157339425213/world-guidance-after-berser
kisechuu.tumblr.com/post/132045752912/heyo-ive-done-some-more-zestiria-world-guidance
I didn't know that much about Alisha's background. This is valuable input, thanks!
I never pay attention alot in game and anime but thanks cues for the information about tale of zestiria
Home girl - please more tales!
I wonder how Sorey would feel meeting Artorius
I think he would be shock about Artorius actions as the Sheperd, because Artorius is just the opposite of Sorey on many levels, and i'm pretty sure he would disagree with Artorius methods and more like Eleanor
But Sorey meeting with Velvel?
That's actually sounds more interesting to me
Honestly what I like the most about these games is that things aren't black and white with regards to The Shepard and the Lord of Calamity. There are "bad" Shepards like Arthur, Michael and Claudin a "good" Lord of Calamity. Tho it was executed better in Berseria, it actually made the characters feel more real.
Both Claudin and Arthur wanted to use Illuminati's power to get rid of emotions and I don't care how much good you do, sacrificing a baby to curse someone kinda negates all the good you did imo. Also I'm starting to believe that it's part of the Shepard job requirements to sacrifice a child to make their Lord of Calamity.
Also it's kinda interesting to me at least that considering the name of the last area in Zestiria, Arthur apparently publicly isn't considered a Fallen Shepard.
Great analysis. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this analysis... I hope more people will appreciate these things... I really love the lore and the way the story has been carefully crafted that the nuances become really intriguing.
Thanks! I agree, the lore of this world is fascinating to look into. Just thinking about it makes me want to explore it all over again.
@@elixirvitaegames I keep exploring the lore and never get tired of it. I'm afraid of being stuck and being just fascinated with Zestiria. Berseria comes second to me because I really do feel Sorey is the "best" shepherd... and that's how b-namco wanted him to be as well. Against the darkness of berseria, Zesty really shines through like a beacon of hope.
It's redeeming to think of the world that way, I think. Like no matter how dark everything looks, there's hope, and that hope can be the person we least expect to be capable of great things... a simple boy like Sorey who have great friends and allies he could depend on. ^_^
Very interesting video! You've earned a new subscriber!
You already know of my requests on Edna and Dezel, and I’m sure it’s on your mind , but if I could bother you with another request, do a video on velvet past and story , I really grew to care much for her
wouldnt eleanor count as a shepherd at the end of berseria, by representing maotelus?
Possibly? I guess if she still has the pact with him then she would technically be a Shepherd, but considering I couldn't find much information on what happened to her following the game, it wouldn't have been of much help to this analysis either, I think.
@@elixirvitaegames hahahaha yeah i was just curious, ty for taking time !
Can you do the analysis of Lord of calamity's nature from tales berseria and zestiria video?
I'll add it to my idea list! Thanks for the suggestion!
HELLO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR MAOTELUS????
You kill me and I love it fvjhfbvdfv.
This was a really neat analysis! It makes me wonder how Siegfried's journey/role could play into it--though we'd have to know more about him too to make better judgements. *stares pointedly at Namco* 3rd game when.............
By the little we do get on Siegfried, it sounds like he had quite the travelling party, him, a lady of the lake, the first Normin Genisys, and we can probably safely assume he was joined by the Storyteller (the Mayvin at the time) to record his deeds also if we do ever get a third game and even though Zestiria and Berseria are old topics tp get a third game about, I would very much be disappointed if the lord of calamity wasn't named after Fafnir (as pertaining to Siegfried's actual legend)
I love the video
Even though they arent called shepards but instead Oracles, Siegfried was one as well and the Guy at the water Temple in Zestiria, i think it was Asura was also one. Also some of the Seraphim u meet in Zestiria where Former shepards.
I also wonder how many Lord of Calamitys there also where before and after Velvet, Because Lailah make it Sound like there where more then just velvet in the past.
Where do you habe the Information about Eizen eating the Lord of calamity before Heldalf?
Btw did u recognize how Artorious as well as Michael created the Lord of calamity of their time?
Just wanted to add this.
Aifried appears in both Vesperia and Berseria. Wonder if Bandai Namco plans to have a connection.
Aifread name and Van Eltia first appeared in Tales of Eternia.
@@diaochan7506 is he a dimension hopping pirate then or what?
@@lukeamparo6586 I think they just use same name for to show their unique game or what.
What role would you have in Tales of zestiria and tales of berseria mine would be to hint sarey toward saying that one of the past Shepherds fought alongside the Lord of calamity AKA Eleanor
"Hello, would you like to speak about our lord and savior, Maotelus?"
SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKS, I'm never going to get over that.
So are we ever going to get an analysis on Berseria?
Definitely at some point! Not sure when exactly, but I'm currently refreshing myself on Berseria so I can start planning analyses for it.
Well Sorey being Successful is really far stretched to be honest.
Sheperts cant win. Humans cant win. Malaks cant win. The curse set on the world makes it so people on the planet cant win and only the Heavenly realm stands victorieous. All Sorey did was pretty much doind Innominats work reseting the world thats all. Only difference is he did it without killing almost everyone.. However he also didnt cleanse the world of Malevolence completely resulting in the circle repeating much faster.
The sad part about Berseria/Zestiria is we cant win unless we kick some butt in the Heavenly Realm. But because the Door to this realm is Sealed and hasnt been opened since Malaks entered the erath realm this is highly unlikely.
You make a very good point! I probably should have been clearer - this wasn't meant to be a direct comparison of success toward one shared goal so much as a measure of how closely each Shepherd's actions came to their intended results. In a way, the fact that malevolence will continue is something that's addressed at the end of Berseria - it's just how the world is, and that can't be changed. It's just a part of being alive, and in a way, that's also meaningful. If everything was tied up with a neat bow at the end, I'm not sure either game would have had the same impact as they do.
The answer to that is in the ending of Zestiria itself. Sorey was gonna sleep with Maotelus for a long time until the world gets healed from malevolence, which could mean, and it probably means, thousands upon thousands of years.
The post credits scene it shows a much older Mikleo exploring a ruin and getting rescued by Sorey, which means that he's back on the earth, which also means that there wasn't any need for him to be chilling out with Phi anymore.
We don't know how exactly they pulled it off, but in the end humans and seraphs/malaks did win.
@@theazureknight9399
You didnt understand the curse could that be ? As long as there are Humans the Seraphs cant win because humans give birth to malevolence. Thats an endless circle so all Sorey did was reseting that circle.
So unless you kill the Malaks in their realm and the curse with it humans and Seraphs have lost. And given the fact we learned in Berseria that the path and gate into the Malak realm was shut there is no hope of winning this rigged "game".
@@HansPeter-iv9ck Sorey didn't reset anything at the end of the game. If you play the dlc you see that there is still malevolence, there are still hellions/daemons and a shepard is still needed (Rose takes up the mantle). Not much changed directly after the final boss and this was never my point.
My point was that Sorey being able to return to earth from his sleep with Maotelus, as shown in the games' post credit scene, means that there's no malevolence plaguing the land anymore, or at least that malevolence isn't a problem. This means that, somehow, the issue of the curse has been solved over time. How they did it? We don't know. But if it hadn't happened, Sorey wouldn't have been able to come back.
Again, we don't know how they pulled it off and probably never will since the third game got cancelled, but the fact remains that somehow the crisis got solved in the end.
@@theazureknight9399
You do know that the DLC plays before the end credits right ? I was talking about the reset being made in the "end" which means the end cut scene.
Sorey only cleansed Maotelus not the world itself. Maotelus is like a "filter" and Sorey cleansed him so he can do his job again cleansing the Malevolence of the World. So you kinda understood the ending wrong because Sorey only cleansed Maotelus not the Malevolence itself.
Thats what i meant with "reset".Sorey cleansed Maotelus who in return cleanses the land until he needs to be cleansed again hence and repead for all eternity.
All shepherd is useless